You Are The Only One
by theweaknessinme
Summary: From Chad Decker's point of view:  Observations on his friendship with Jack and Jack's relationship with Erica.  Takes place a few days after Mother's Day, the series finale.


A/N: This is a quick little story that came together while I was working on another story! Many thanks to my proofreaders/advisors!

**And the day came when the pain of remaining tight in the bud was greater than the risk it took to open. ~Anais Nin**

I was sure I was a dead man. I'm still baffled why Anna let me go. She knew it was me talking in the hostage video when we were holding Lisa. Damn V technology. I should have known. _We_ should have known. When will we stop making these amateur mistakes? Ryan should have warned us…. I've never been so scared as when the V soldiers came for me. Anyway, I'm alive and breathing, the sun is beaming through the window and this coffee wrapped in my hands is incredibly comforting. Anna must still need me for something or she never would have let me go.

I've been meeting with Jack and Erica in this little coffee shop until we can find another place. We don't meet in the warehouse anymore. God knows where Hobbes disappeared to. Bastard took everything, even Jack's Bible, for God's sake. I have to admit Hobbes was useful for a lot of things.

Maybe we don't need him anymore. Something is up, but Jack and Erica are being a bit elusive. Strange, since neither of them have ever been secretive. Erica was a bit reserved around me at first. I really messed them up. It's a miracle they ever forgave me. I don't know what Jack saw in me that allowed me into their trusted inner sanctum, much less to become a close friend to him.

Jack is an amazing man. So spiritual. A deep thinker and a sensitive soul. More baffling than befriending myself, is how he and Erica ever bonded. I've heard the short story – the facts. But there must be much more. It must have been some instant instinct or perhaps divine intervention that allowed them to trust one another. Those two are complete opposites and yet they make a powerful team. The FBI agent and the priest. It sounds like it should be a comedy sketch.

When talking to Jack, you wouldn't be able to guess right away that he was a priest. He is a true optimist, a man who enjoys people and smiles easily. Under normal circumstances, that is. I've seen him tease Erica and she responds right away with an amused snark. A simple glance between them has unspoken meaning. For knowing each other such a short time, they have mastered communication on their own unique wavelength to which no one else is privy.

Sitting here across from them right now, it seems like they are back to the same comfortable place they were before Joe died. After that horrific day, things changed and not for the better. Erica lost her ex-husband and her son the same day. Though Tyler is still alive, he turned his back on Erica, rocking her to her core. She shut down and went into survival mode, with anger as her constant companion. It was deeply unsettling to watch her morph into an Anna-type clone and become every bit as cold and ruthless. It was hard to watch Jack try time after time to reach out to her and be ignored. Erica began to side more and more with Hobbes' whatever-it-takes strategies, tactics which she'd shied away from over and over again during previous months. She no longer glanced at Jack for the reassurance they were doing the right thing. The easy smiles were gone from Jack's face. And the day I saw the light go out of his eyes, I was pretty sure Erica and Hobbes had done the horizontal rumba and Jack knew it. How could he not? Hobbes' night-long absence would speak volumes. My heart bled for my friend.

At least it didn't go on for long. Hobbes was gone a couple of days later. It must have been a pretty casual fling. The only way I knew something had gone on was by observing Jack's demeanor. I tried to broach the subject by telling him he wore his heart on his sleeve. He seemed surprised at the comment and acknowledged that he probably wasn't hiding his feelings very well. He tried to turn it into a conversation about the discomfort he was feeling regarding Hobbes influence on Erica's tactical decisions. Nice try, Father Landry.

In reality, Jack was emotionally crushed. I spent as much time with him as I could. His faith kept him going, but he was suffering. He'd lost a lot; his career, his parishioners, but most importantly Erica. Before the bombing, I would have said Jack and Erica were soulmates, even if neither of them recognized it. As a casual observer, it's the kind of thing you don't pay much attention to. Until it's gone.

Erica had to be more careful with Jack. He was too important to the Fifth Column to have him walk out. But as much as he was hurting, he hung in there. We both gained comfort from our companionship. We are both loners in our own ways but were badly in need of contact with a kindred soul who knew the truth about the Visitors.

My respect for Jack Landry grew daily. He is a wonderful writer, so to make ends meet he was ghost writing for religious publications and clerical colleagues. I was introducing him to some publishers I knew. He was looking into additional training he would need to be an EMT as well as social work options. Being laicized happened quickly and had not been any part of his life plan. He really had the rug pulled out from under him, but it had not stopped him from exploring his options away from the Church.

I hadn't been able to shake the feeling of impending doom all last week. I think we all started to live on coffee, too worried to bother eating. We couldn't seem to gain any traction against the Visitors no matter how we tried. The more frustrated Erica became, the more ruthless she became and the more she alienated herself from Jack. Maybe she didn't want to take him down with her. Hmmm.

Erica Evans is an enigma to me. She wears the persona of a tough FBI agent – and she wears it well. She is intelligent and a lightning fast thinker. A bit of a manipulator. And drop-dead gorgeous. I don't know how Jack kept his hands off her. He was every bit a gentleman with her, even though they were both very tactile. She would often reach out to touch him. I find it hard to believe the primitive testosterone-driven Neanderthal buried somewhere inside every man didn't respond on some level. I wonder when he fell in love with her? I wonder when he _admitted __to __himself_ that he was in love with her? I wonder if he'd ever tell me? I had to stop a little smile from playing around my lips as I wondered if he'd ever tell _her_? The journalist in me wanted to know all the details – even if the story was out of my genre.

It was a big relief to see them so relaxed in each other's company today. Even though Tyler had still not returned from the mothership, Erica seemed back to normal. Although this was a meeting with me, Jack and Erica were having a discussion of their own, their voices drowned out by the echoing clatter in the coffee shop. Their heads were turned towards each other, shoulders touching, their voices low and intense, but no tension or disagreement apparent. The smile on my lips tugged harder.

I'll never forget the night in the warehouse when Erica came in after Jack and I discovered Hobbes had vanished with everything. We were both on pins and needles worrying about Erica's reaction. If Erica had been tuned in to anyone but herself, she could have cut the tension in the air with a knife. There was no way I wanted to deal with her. We had never been close or particularly friendly. Jack was very reluctant to go near her and I don't blame him. He'd been hurt enough over the last few days and was trying to avoid more pain. He looked like a man who wanted to help a wounded animal, but discovered that animal was a porcupine.

We were both surprised when Erica seemed to brush aside Hobbes baffling departure as low importance. Hobbes disappearing when things got bad was becoming a pattern.

Erica's anxiety revolved entirely around Tyler. She had told him everything and was panicked that he had not left the ship.

Now that I think about it, she came to the warehouse for Jack. He was the one person who could soothe her, the one who knew her better than anyone at this point in time. She was falling apart and she came to the place she knew she would be comforted. I just hoped she wasn't going to use him as a door mat. Although punching bag would have been a more appropriate analogy.

It was a wonderful thing to see her turn her face up to him and openly acknowledge his courage by saying "You are the only one who held strong to what you believe in." She continued in a voice meant only for Jack's ears, but I caught bits. She confessed to behaving just like Anna and it would never happen again. I was trying to give them some privacy, but I was riveted by the little drama that was playing out. I felt like letting out a whoop, slapping Jack on the back and yelling "She's finally come to her senses!" But of course, I didn't. Not really my style, but I was relieved. It looked like we had our Erica back.

I don't know what happened between them later that night. I know that Jack had been Blissed. Erica had somehow avoided it, as had I while I was imprisoned on the ship. I didn't see Tyler or Ryan during my time on the ship. Anna didn't even come to see me. She must have been as ecstatically happy as a V could become when she realized she had the ability to Bliss humans. She had let me go for ominous future plans. I felt like part of a catch and release program.

I had only seen Jack and Erica once since that night. They were so relieved to see I had returned safely that I earned a coveted Erica hug. I was happy to be alive and just as determined as ever to beat the Visitors and send them packing. There was still no sign of Ryan, Tyler or Hobbes. Nothing from Joshua or Lisa. How did I get away unscathed?

Maybe I was seeing Jack and Erica through the rose-colored glasses of a man who had escaped torture and death.

"Are you going to share?" I asked the two across the table.

Erica looked over at me and smiled one of her gorgeous smiles. Happiness lit her eyes. I hadn't seen that in a while.

"Jack is going to tell you about Project Aires. You need to know. I have to get back to work."

Erica stood and slipped on her jacket. She flipped her long blond hair out of her collar then suddenly leaned over, wrapped her arms around Jack's shoulders and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Before she could pull away, Jack reached out to put a hand behind her neck, preventing her head from moving away, and pressed his lips gently to hers. What began as a quick kiss became several lingering kisses and when it was over, they broke only inches apart, smiling knowingly into one another's eyes. Then she was gone and Jack was leaning with his elbows on the table and clasping his hands as he faced me. There was still a smile on his lips and it broadened as he looked at me. His eyes were the bluest I'd ever seen them and his crowsfeet became even deeper as the smile threatened to crack his face. Then his eyes began to shine with unshed tears.

My jaw was slack. I must have looked like an idiot. I can handle most unexpected on-air situations with relative ease, but this took me completely by surprise and it obviously showed.

"Father Landry, you dog!" I finally blurted out.

"I think you can drop the "Father" for good, Chad. Are you ready to take a walk? I have _hope_ to share with you."


End file.
